UHV provides lunch to crew members working to complete Jaguar Hall

Aug. 7, 2010 at 3:07 a.m.

Construction workers load up their plates with chicken fried steak, rolls, peach cobbler and more Saturday afternoon. The University of Houston-Victoria provided the food as a "thank you" for those working to get Jaguar Hall ready for students to move in Sept. 3.

Did you know?Students are slated to move into Jaguar Hall Sept. 3 but not every part of the building will be complete. Two classrooms and some offices took lower priority on the project and will be completed at a later date.

Work slowed to a halt at the University of Houston-Victoria's dorms Saturday as clusters of men settled among the dust and rubble to eat.

UHV provided lunch for about 150 construction workers working to complete Jaguar Hall before the students' Sept. 3 move-in.

The gesture was a "thank you" for workers and a chance to celebrate that the crew had finally cleared the mold and asbestos from the hall, said Kevin Myers, the university's facilities director.

Rain slowed work on the roof early on and that affected other aspects of the project, he said.

"The roof held up the mold and asbestos guys and the mold guys held up the sheet rockers and painters," he said.

Now, other tasks can really get under way.

Many people are putting in long hours to complete the project, said Lester Colley, project manager and vice president with Krueger Construction.

Electricians are probably working 70 or 80 hours per week while other crew members rack up about 60 hours, he said.

"Everybody's very positive," he said, looking around at the crews outside the facility. "We've got a big task ahead of us but everybody dove in and is doing the best they can."

Phillip Dilworth secured his job working on the dorms about a month ago. By Saturday, he'd worked nearly two weeks straight, moving items in and out and helping where possible.

The free lunch was a nice gesture, he said, explaining he's enjoyed the work so far.

"It's good to see everything coming together," Dilworth said.

Fernando Castrejon, who does concrete work, also started work a month ago. He said he appreciated the meal because it saved the construction workers a bit of money.

Money is also the reason he said he doesn't mind putting in the extra hours.

"I'm catching up on bills," he said, explaining he often works 10- and 11-hour days. "The extra money won't hurt nobody."